Hey Thalia
by DerangedSociopath
Summary: He was playing with her hair. It was still short, the dark locks hanging a couple inches above her shoulders. He liked that part of her. It helped remind him that she was still Thalia Grace, and not Artemis' lieutenant.
1. Chapter 1

**[DISCLAIMER] I do not own Percy Jackson and The Olympians. In case ya didn't guess. [DISCLAIMER]**

"Hey Thalia…" They were lying on the beach, hands touching.

"Yeah?" She opened her eyes, looking towards the sky.

"I've been thinking — And no, the world isn't ending — Is this okay?" Percy sighed.

"Is what okay?" She turned to face him.

"This — Whatever this is — Us." He met her eyes. Her electric blue eyes — Was it a daughter of Zeus thing? "What are we, exactly?" He could stare into them forever.

"…" No response. He supposed he shouldn't have asked. He was putting her in an awkward situation. "I dunno Kelp Head. What are we?" Now it was his turn to feel awkward.

"You make me feel… Different. Alive. Like I was dead before." He took her hand in his. He felt a tingle — Current? — Go through his arm.

"Hmph. Would you like some extra cheese with that? Or was that enough?" she retorted, unimpressed.

"Ouch. I am hurt. You know I like my pizza with extra cheese." It was easier not to think about it. About their 'relationship'.

They lay in silence for some time, watching the stars, hand in hand. He hoped Artemis couldn't see them — Though they'd done nothing that would warrant being smote. She spoke, "We shouldn't be doing this. You have Annabeth. I'm a Hunter. There are so many things wrong here."

"I know. I know…" He didn't want to think about it. But they had to face reality. "We've been pretty distant recently you know, Annabeth and I. She's been busy redesigning Olympus or whatever." That, and he'd been avoiding her. "I think it helps her cope. With the war, and Tartarus."

"Would you still be here if she wasn't?" He knew he would be. He only got to spend so much time with Thalia after all.

"I would." He didn't beat around the bush.

* * *

"Hey Thalia…" She was outside his cabin.

"What?" She let herself in, closing the door behind her.

"Uh… Is this okay?" Okay? What part of their relationship was okay? She supposed they were both okay with it though, and that was what mattered. "Won't the Hunters have an issue with their lieutenant entering a boy's cabin?" So that was what he'd meant.

"I don't think they saw me, and if they did, well, that's that." It was about time someone found out anyway. She wouldn't have been surprised if Annabeth decided to walk in at that very moment.

"That's that huh… So, what's the occasion?" She didn't have any reason per se, she just found herself wanting to talk to him. Was that strange?

"Nothing really... Wanna spar?" She couldn't help but stare into his eyes, she felt like she could get lost in them. At least she'd know what being lost at sea would feel like.

"Sure. Where? In the arena or…?" Recently, they'd taken to sparring alone (together) in the forest. It made her feel like she was doing something forbidden, something… Intimate.

"You know where Kelp Head." She opened the door. "You coming?"

* * *

"Hey Thalia…" He was sitting against a rock, with her head in his lap.

"Yes?" He was playing with her hair. It was still short, the dark locks hanging a couple inches above her shoulders. He liked that part of her. It helped remind him that she was still Thalia Grace, and not Artemis' lieutenant.

"That was fun." Their spar definitely was fun, passionate even, if he did say so himself. "We should do this more often." They'd gone at it till they'd both run out of breath.

"Because every day isn't often enough. What must I do to please you O great hero?" Not one to pass up a good opportunity when he saw one, he pounced.

"Please me you say? Well, I can think of a few… Things." And then he wished he hadn't. Because her head was currently in his lap, and it would be a bad time to think of such 'Things'.

"…" He saw the blush creeping up her neck, her cheeks turning pink. Cute, he thought.

"I didn't know pinecones came in pink." He felt something for Thalia Grace. He didn't know what to call it. Love? He didn't know. "When are the Hunters leaving?"

"Tomorrow." He knew that of course. He always made sure he did. He'd tell her to stay safe, but he knew she could handle herself.

"Can I kiss you?" They supposed it didn't count as breaking the oath; she was still a maiden after all.

"Hmm." She sat up, placing herself in his lap.

"I'll take that as a yes." Their lips met.

He supposed she felt something for him too.

* * *

 **[AN]**

 **So, first fanfic. Pretty bad, I know, but hey. Couldn't really find anything to scratch my Perlia itch, so I went ahead. Sorry 'bout them being OOC. Tell me what you think. Thanks for reading.**

 **[AN]**


	2. Chapter 2

**[DISCLAIMER]**

 **I'm poor.**

 **[DISCLAIMER]**

Three months. That was how long it had been since he'd last seen her. The leaves were starting to lose their green hue and were taking on a fierier shade. A week since his birthday. The Hunt was still out… Hunting. Perseus Jackson was bored.

He was walking through the forest that surrounded camp half-blood. The only sound that could be heard was that of leaves crunching under his boots — A gift from the Stolls — Which seemed louder than they should have. No cicadas, no birds, nothing. Strange, he mused. He sighed audibly. "Man, I wish Thalia was here."

He didn't quite understand his attraction towards the daughter of Zeus — It didn't make any sense. After all, he had a girlfriend, his fatal flaw was loyalty, and yet: He was cheating. It may have had something to do with aforementioned girlfriend being too preoccupied with her position as Olympus' architect, but it was still weird.

He recalled his birthday. It had been a big deal he supposed, it wasn't every year that the Savior of Olympus twice over turned eighteen — Far as the man himself knew, it only happened once. The camp had thrown him a party — A rather magnanimous affair (The second in recent memory) — With alcohol on the menu, much to Dionysius' pleasure. Percy didn't much care for the stuff himself, being a son of Poseidon, water that wasn't clean bothered him. Of course, not wanting to be a bad sport he'd joined in on the revelry. His mother had been there too, he hoped she hadn't seen him do anything… Too weird (He knew he had, Clarisse made had made sure of that).

There were only two things that had bothered him on that particular day, both involving the women in his life. One, the girlfriend, who didn't turn up, and two, the not-girlfriend AKA Thalia Grace, who couldn't. He supposed that nothing could have been done about the latter — She was a Hunter after all — Although he still wished that she had been present. On the other hand, Annabeth's being absent had surprised him. Perhaps she had learned of his infidelity and decided that he wasn't worth his time. She was a daughter of the wisdom Goddess, it wouldn't have been hard for her to figure out. Had she been around to see the signs.

When was the last time he had seen her? Oh yes, the day after his birthday, when she had apologized for not having been able to make it (On the bright side, he now had an owl plushy). Their relationship was strained; it was obvious to anyone who saw them interact (Not that they did that often).

Lost in thought, he didn't pay any attention to his surroundings till an arrow zipped past him, almost taking his ear off. Silver.

* * *

Thalia was tired. Physically, sure, trying to kill giant lions with impenetrable hides did that to a person; that was why she was resting in her tent. That wasn't it. She was tired of thinking all the time. Thinking, worrying, envisioning the worst — You get the idea. Perhaps it would be better to say she was stressed. Very.

"Thalia?" her surrogate sister/step-sister/mistress called out. Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt, the Moon, Childbirth, and seemingly, of turning men into jackalopes. Thalia could recall two such incidents in the last three months alone, although they did deserve it — Would be rapists were better off not becoming the same.

"Yes milady?" she shouted. It was starting to bug her. Every time she heard Artemis call for her, she'd start freaking out, assuming the worst. Which, to this Hunter, was Artemis finding out about her… more than platonic relations with a member of the opposite sex. The person in question? Why, none other than that infuriating, no-good, sarcastic twerp: Perseus Jackson.

Yup. She had it bad.

She entered Artemis' tent. "Thalia, there's something I need to ask you." Thalia could hear her heart beating. Had Artemis found out? Was she suspicious? Was it all over? What if— "Would you be okay with taking the hunt to Camp for the next few days? I have business on Olympus." Oh. A wave of relief washed over her — No, it pulsed through her, waves were his thing.

"Ah. Okay. Is that all milady?" Now that she'd taken the breath she hadn't known she was holding, she processed what she had just heard. She fought the grin that was trying to take over her face.

"Well, yes, if you're fine with it, that is all. I could take you with me though. I'm sure father wouldn't mind." Her father may not have minded, but Thalia was pretty sure she would have. She didn't like him very much — Zeus was an arrogant prick. Besides, she had priorities.

"I think I'll be fine. It wouldn't be fair to the rest of the Hunters anyway." Excuse, check.

"Very well. I'll take you to the border, we depart tomorrow. Can I rely on you to break the news to the rest? You know how they are."

Thalia sighed. This wouldn't be pleasant. Maybe she could get Phoebe to do it for her. No, the daughter of Ares was too temperamental. Thalia wasn't too fond of Camp herself, it was too noisy — She had gotten used to the tranquil forests. "Will do, milady." She exited the tent. She'd tell Phoebe first.

* * *

They had arrived. Camp half-blood. The Sun had crossed the halfway mark some time ago, and was leaning West. "Okay girls, remember to behave. Oh, and try not to do anything permanent. Unless it's to one of my idiotic brother's children." Having said that, Artemis vanished in a flash of silver light.

"You guys know what to do. Just don't kill anyone, I'll be busting some stress in the forest. Phoebe, you're in charge while I'm gone." Thalia wanted to meet Percy, but that could wait. She did have some stress that needed busting, so that was what she'd do first.

"Can we ask Chiron to make the Archery Range Hunters' exclusive?" one of the newer Hunters, Kate (Short for Ceto), asked.

"Um, sure, go ahead. I'll be meet up with you for Capture the Flag." She slung her bow over her shoulder and started walking towards the forest. She thought about Percy — Gods, she did that way too often. Would he like the gift? "He'd better. Wasn't easy getting it…" she muttered to herself.

The forest was silent. Almost, but not quiet (Pun intended). The only sound she could hear was an ominous crunching. A monster perhaps? No, she was within the Camp border. Then what was it? She started following the sound, bow in hand.

As she drew nearer to the source, she started worrying. What if the Camp's barrier had failed? It had happened a few times in the past, most notably when her tree had been poisoned. Surely that couldn't be the case. Her feet were light on the forest floor, as she stalked her quarry. The shade from the trees stopped her silver garb from reflecting the sunlight as it was prone to do.

It was much louder now. She was probably within range of the monster. She nocked an arrow, drew her bow, and loosed it, aiming for the sound.

"What the Hades! Who shot at me?" she heard someone swear. Oops. She supposed she could have confirmed the nature of the source before firing at it, but in her defense, she was stressed, and anyway, a sound that loud had to come from something not human. She wasn't wrong, technically. A figure emerged through the thicket. It had messy black hair and sea green eyes that she knew oh so well.

"Hey… Percy… How've you been?"

* * *

 **[AN]**

 **Wow. So the motivational reviews thing works. Thank you to everyone who bothered to read/review/follow/favorite this. Sorry about the cliffhanger. I decided to do some exposition, does it work? Is my writing okay? Tell me what you think.**

 **P.S.: I'll probably make this about five chapters, and about 6-8k words. I had another story idea, so I'll start working on that.**

 **P.P.S.: I have no idea if autumn in August in New York. Roll with it. Where I live, we don't have autumn. Just monsoons.**

 **[AN]**


	3. Chapter 3

**[DISCLAIMER]**

 **Ah, formalities. I do not own Percy Jackson and The Olympians. S &M isn't my thing.**

 **[DISCLAIMER]**

"Hey… Percy… How've you been?" Percy wasn't expecting that.

"Thalia…?" His eyes ran over the figure of his attacker. She was roughly 5'6", with short-cropped hair, and blue eyes that seemed to be crackling with electricity. She also had moderately sized b— He dragged his eyes back towards her face. "When did you get here?" he asked, "Also, why did you shoot at me?"

"…In my defense, I thought you were a monster." She seemed to have found something of interest in the grass, as she refused to meet his eyes, sporting a guilty look, "The Hunt arrived today. Artemis has business on Olympus." She slung her bow on her back.

He took a step forward, with a loud crunching sound emanating from where his foot touched the grass. Wait a second. Grass didn't go crunch…

Gift from the Stolls. Right. He should have seen it coming. He'd have to talk with them later. No wonder Thalia mistook him for a monster. It sounded like a Cyclops at mealtime (Something he had the pleasure of experiencing firsthand). It was a wonder the whole camp hadn't rallied out to the forest to hunt him down. Unless, of course, they were in on it…

Percy started approaching her, the sound now impossible to ignore. She seemed to notice it too (Because it was so hard to miss), "Um… You might want to get a refund on those. Maybe give them to Clarisse." The daughter of Ares would probably appreciate the gesture. She did lean more towards intimidation than stealth. Thalia started walking towards him.

"Stolls. Birthday gift," he said as they closed the distance between each other. He tried to recall if he had received anything else from the offenders. He had worn the boots since his old sneakers were a bit too worn out. Nothing came to mind.

"Oh. That explains it." They were now face to face.

He wrapped his arms around Thalia, who returned the gesture. He could feel her heart beat through the layers of fabric separating them, cliché as it may have been. "You look tired," he observed. She had bags under her eyes, something he had missed from a distance. "Have you been getting enough sleep?"

Releasing herself from their embrace, Thalia took a step back, looking away from Percy. "I guess I'm a bit out of it…" She sounded tired too. He would have to learn to pay more attention to these things, she was prone to hiding things she thought made her weak. "But it's no big deal…"

He wasn't having it, "Come on, lets head back. You need to rest. We can talk later." He wondered what had brought her down to this state. She hadn't been this tired the last time the Hunt had come to camp. Maybe she was overexerting herself. Even partial-immortals had limits. Had Artemis been pushing them too hard?

Thalia didn't respond, still refusing to meet his gaze. He decided to up his game, "Okay then. If you won't come willingly I'll just have to carry you."

"You wouldn't dare." Would he? It would be a dangerous, potentially life-threatening thing to do.

"You asked for it!" Not giving her time to think, he lifted her up by her waist, carrying her bridal style. She squeaked, surprised.

It took her a second to register her position. She glared at him, it seemed she wasn't happy about something… He felt like saying something along the lines of 'if looks could kill', but decided against it. He just wasn't feeling suicidal enough (Although something told him he had already signed his own will. Was it the look? … It was the look).

"Percy…" Her voice had a dangerous edge to it, like the one his mom used when he was caught stealing cookies, "I'll give you three seconds to let me down." Perhaps this hadn't been his best idea. A pissed off Thalia was a dangerous Thalia, and a dangerous Thalia was… Well, ever been struck by lightning? Not pleasant.

"Three…" His brain was working on overdrive. His instincts screamed at him, telling him to run.

"Two…" He made up his mind. A soft 'thump' was heard.

He had let her down, rougher than he would have liked to — He had pretty much dropped her — but his self-preservation instincts told him to get away from the woman he was infatuated with. "Sorry Thals, gotta run!" He started off towards the camp, not looking back. The crunching produced by his boots was deafening. How had he not noticed it before?

Percy made it to the edge of the forest, finally turning around. No sign of a very pissed Thalia Grace. He slowed down, coming to a stop. He was in the clear. Which turned out to be his downfall. There was nothing to shelter him from the daughter of Zeus' wrath.

A flash of blue lightning appeared from the cloudless sky, striking its target. Which happened to be a now-smoking (Hot, if you asked him) son of Poseidon. He crumpled and fell to the ground, barely conscious. "That was a cheap trick… I'm shocked…" he trailed off. Well, at least she didn't kill him — Although, if he wasn't a son of the sea god, she very well might have. He made a mental note to refrain from trying to carry Thalia in the future. It could be detrimental to his health.

Closing his eyes, he let the darkness take hold.

* * *

Everything hurt. His body was screaming at him. His head was throbbing. Was he dead? … No, he was pretty sure being dead would hurt less… He felt like he had taken another dip in the Styx. Or maybe he had been run over by a car. That would explain the pain.

He could hear voices. "—lia, he'll be fine, you should get some rest." Chiron. Who was he talking to? Where were they? Percy opened his eyes, squinting at the bright light that invaded them. His vision was hazy. He took in his surroundings, recognizing the golden lining on the sheets of his bed. The infirmary. Why was he here? … Oh right, he had carried —Tried to carry— Thalia bridal style. Not something you'd see him doing any time soon.

There were people beside him. Chiron in his wheelchair, Thalia looking worried and… A third figure a little distance away. A blonde? He positioned his palms, trying to use his arms to raise himself. "Ugh… I feel like crap…" he grunted.

"Percy! you're awake!" Thalia sounded relieved. The haziness had cleared enough for him to make out the dark circles under her eyes. Oh gods. She hadn't rested had she... Knowing her, she had probably stayed with him the whole time. Time… How long had he been out? "Oh gods, I'm so sorry."

"Hey… Thals—Urk. What's the time?" He tried to look around, searching for a clock. Now that he could see clearer, he could make out who the blonde was. "Annabeth?" It was his girlfriend. He wondered where she had been for the past week. She had a strange look on her face. Guilt?

"Hey, Seaweed Brain. Are you feeling okay?" Annabeth asked. He wasn't exactly 'okay', but he supposed he'd had worse.

"As okay as a guy can be after being struck by lightning," Percy replied, chuckling. He saw Thalia wincing at that comment. "It's cool Pinecone Face," he lied. "Well no, it isn't, but I'll live. You may just have overreacted a bit though." Give or take a million volts.

"I'm so sorry, seriously, but I was sort of stressed, and then you went and grabbed me like tha—"

He cut Thalia off, "It's okay. No hard feelings. Just go get some sleep." It would be best if people didn't get the wrong (Or was it?) idea.

"Percy, it is currently eight minutes past midnight, and Thalia, I think it would be good for you to get some rest. As you can see, Percy is now awake and seems to have recovered considerably." Chiron paused, glancing over Percy, then Thalia. "Besides, I doubt Lady Artemis would be too happy about me letting her lieutenant faint because she was at a boy's bedside, even if he happens to be your cousin," he remarked.

Chiron was smart. Percy wouldn't put it past him to have guessed that the relation between Thalia and Percy was… Not that of cousins. Thalia hadn't either, if the look that she gave him was anything to go by.

"Fine, I'll rest. Can I use the Zeus cabin? It's always empty anyway." Thalia started walking towards the door, when she turned, "Oh yeah, Percy, I wanted to give you your birthday gift." She walked up to him, then reached into her pocket, retrieving something in her fist. A watch? "Here, wear this."

He took the watch in his palm. It was black, with a skeleton dial design and an onyx face. The cardinal hours were silvered on it in Greek. There were three knobs on the side. The watch had a chronometer, a date/day dial… and something with a weird croissant shape on it. Percy raised an eyebrow. "That's a moon-phase dial. I had Artemis get this for me so… Yeah. It's also enchanted to be completely water resistant. You could go diving in the Mariana trench wearing that."

"I'll keep that in mind next time I do that." He chuckled. "This is probably the best gift I've received to be honest. Thank you." It was true. The bike his father had given him was cool, as was the VR headset from Paul, but the watch was something that he would keep close to his heart (Since, you know, it would be on his pulse). He put it on, attaching the metal clasp.

"Really? The best?" Thalia sounded skeptical.

"I swear. Scout's honor." He'd never been a sc—

"You've never been a scout," Thalia deadpanned. "But it feels good to know that." She turned to face Chiron and Annabeth, "Well then, I'll be off. Goodnight." She walked up to the door and opened it, before turning around again, "Oh, forgot to mention, it turns into a gauntlet if you turn the third knob. Bye." With that, she exited the infirmary, closing the door behind her.

"Woah." And he'd thought it was awesome before…

"Very well then, I'll be leaving now. Percy, you can return to your cabin if you're feeling okay. You too, Annabeth," Chiron said, breaking the silence.

"Sure. I'd like to talk with Percy first though, if that's okay," Annabeth said. Talk? About what, Percy wondered.

"Hmm. Don't take too long, it's late." Percy checked the time on his new watch. Fourteen minutes past twelve. Chiron excused himself from the infirmary, rolling his wheelchair along.

"So… What did you want to talk about?" Percy asked.

Annabeth sighed, looking down. "Percy… I know you've noticed, but we just don't get along as well as we used to. Heck, that's an understatement; We barely even talk anymore."

"…"

"Percy, I think we should break up."

* * *

 **[AN]**

 **Tried to make this chapter longer, almost hit 2k words. The OOCness went up in this one, with Thalia acting bipolar, but hey, she wasn't in the best mood. What did you think of the gift? I had to wikipedia watches for that.**

 **I've been trying to increase my attention to detail when it comes to writing. What'd you guys think? Have I improved? Do tell.**

 **As always, thank you to everyone who read/favorited/followed this. Special thanks to reviewers, who made me ignore my homework and motivated me to finish and post this at 1:40 in the morning. I have to wake up for school at 6:00.**

 **[AN]**


	4. Chapter 4

**[DISCLAIMER] Forgot about this thing [DISCLAIMER]**

"I think we should break up."

Silence.

"Okay," Percy said. He didn't know what to think. Was it normal to not feel anything when your girlfriend of two years wants to break up with you? No, it probably wasn't. But then, he was Percy Jackson. He wasn't all that normal — At least, that was what he told himself: It eased the guilt.

"So… This is awkward," Annabeth said. Awkward huh? That was one way to put it. "Although it was easier than I thought it'd be," she continued, sighing. Was that relief in her eyes?

"Well… You were right. I think we lost that… Spark, you know?" he replied, with an awkward chuckle, not wanting to meet her eyes.

"Well, if its sparks you want, I'm sure Thalia has plenty to give away. As you know." Oh… Had she known then? That would explain why she had confronted him. "If you're wondering, I didn't know. Not before today, at least; it was obvious from the way she was acting. She wouldn't leave your side, not for a second."

Percy had nothing to say. If Annabeth had figured it out, that meant Chiron probably had, too. If Thalia had been with him the whole time, the Hunters would probably have known. It didn't take a genius to add things up — Hades, he'd have figured it out if he was a third party, and he wasn't known for his smarts.

"I came with the intention of breaking things off anyway, so it doesn't bother me as much as it ought to," she paused, "But it still hurts to know that you didn't tell me."

The sickening feeling in his gut was killing him. They had never meant for it to get so… Out of hand...

Percy had been lonely, because, well, Annabeth never had time, and most people had the tendency to forget that the Hero of Olympus was just a normal person. The others who had fought beside him in the Giant war were… busy. Jason and Piper, Frank and Hazel… And Zeus knew where Leo was. They had their own lives; he hadn't wanted to bother them.

Then Thalia had showed up. Initially, they had just talked, as friends and cousins. She had been lonely too, he knew; the life of Artemis' lieutenant was a solitary one. When Zoë had been lieutenant, she and Artemis had been very close, sharing many of the same ideals. Thalia, on the other hand, had joined out of a sense of obligation, and fear: She had been afraid of the prophecy. She had never been a man-hater in the sense. At least, that was what she had told him.

So, there had been a lonely boy in a fragile relationship, and a lonely girl who had sworn off men. And boom! The perfect setup for a romantic drama. Aphrodite must have been thrilled. All they had needed was a little push.

So, of course, they received one, it had been more of a rom-com event though…

==|=ぢそ===—

"Hey Pinecone Face! You ready to get beat?" Percy said. It was one of those extra-special Capture the Flag days when the campers faced off against the Hunters. Of course, the game itself would start much later, but he had wanted to start the gloating early. There was also some part of him that enjoyed talking to Thalia. Thus, they were alone at the Arena, ready to spar.

"In your dreams Kelp Head. When was the last time you guys won?" Throwing him a taunting look, Thalia said, "Oh right, never." She had a point there, not that he'd ever admit it — Besides, he had a plan (Unfortunately, he'd never get around to carrying it out).

"Hmph. Our day will come. And then you'll be sorry," he mock-threatened her.

"Why is that exactly?" She raised an eyebrow, curious.

"I'll make you listen to… What's his name again?" He raised his hand to his chin and pretended to think, "Oh yeah, Justin Bieber." That would probably piss her off.

"Jackson. You wouldn't dare." The temperature around them dropped — Or maybe it was just him — as Thalia spoke. Huh. He shrugged it off.

Percy decided to push his luck. "Baby, baby, baby ooohh," he crooned, closing his eyes — A mistake. The sky thundered. His second warning. Unfortunately, he didn't catch it, "Baby, baby, baby nooo," he sang, at the highest pitch he could manage. Which came out rather strange.

He continued, "Baby, baby, baby— Oooooof!" He crumpled to the ground on his knees, his head almost touching the grass and his hands cupping his nether regions. A stream of colourful language came out of his mouth, mostly the same monosyllabic word inserted between his moans of pain. "Urk—That was… A low… blow," he managed, rolling onto his side.

Thalia huffed. "I warned you," she said, with a hint of guilt in her voice, perhaps reflected in her face, he wouldn't know — He was preoccupied. … "Oh, come on! It can't be that bad," she said after some time, how long exactly, he had no idea.

"Li-Like you… Would know." Hades, it hurt. The pain had eased slightly however, enough for him to raise his head and see her guilty expression. At least she looked like she regretted it.

"Gods! I'm sorry okay! Now can you stop doing that— That moaning thing you're doing?!" she shouted, though it almost seemed like she was pleading. However, one did not simply 'recover' after taking an electrically charged punch to the groin.

…

Wait. Electrically charged?

Percy started freaking out — And rightly so. His breathing became shallower, his heartbeat accelerating as he pictured the worst-case scenario — The one where he could never have kids.

That seemed to have been all Thalia could take. She swore. "That's it." She hoisted him by the arm, inciting a groan of pain from him, and put him on his feet. The poor boy, however, had not recovered yet, and unable to keep his balance, he fell.

Right on top of Thalia. As he crashed onto her, in true rom-com fashion, so did his lips.

So, he found himself kissing Thalia Grace, Lieutenant of Artemis, daughter of Zeus and man-hater of four years, all the while in incredible pain. And he was enjoying it. More than he had when he'd kissed Calypso, or Annabeth for that matter. The best part? She was kissing him back.

The Hunters won Capture the Flag that day — For the sixtieth time, something Chiron pointed out, it was a landmark victory — but Percy, though he did not take part, did not feel like he had lost.

As for Thalia, she had disappeared after the 'incident', and hadn't shown up for the game, locking herself in the Zeus cabin. A couple of the Hunters had tried to get her to join, only to receive shocks on touching the cabin door.

==|=ぢそ===—

Percy chuckled as he recalled that eventful day, he had completely forgotten his guilt — And Annabeth's presence.

"Ahem," Annabeth cleared her throat loudly, bringing Percy back to the present, which was a good 12:16 AM. He had zoned out for a full minute. The awkwardness returned. "Are you there?"

"Ah. Sorry. Zoned out for a second there." His cheeks flushed pink. He looked Annabeth in the eyes. He couldn't read her expression, it was neutral, though slightly amused. "I'm sorry. I should have told you— Should have at least tried to break things off, instead of going behind your back."

She sighed again. "Well, I guess I am partly to blame, since I never had time for you— For us…" she trailed off. "Besides, I doubt you'd have had the guts to tell me properly: You always were bad with girls." She stared into his eyes, making him feel like a deer in the headlights, "Tell me one thing though, how long?"

"Um… Six-Seven months?" he mumbled, his voice nearly inaudible. The guilt was creeping up the pit of his stomach again.

"That long huh… I'm surprised you two managed to keep it hidden, especially you Percy. No offense, but you're not very good at keeping secrets." she looked away, turning towards the wall, "What do you plan to do about Artemis?"

"Um…" He hadn't really thought about it. What would he do? He'd— They'd have to confront her eventually, it was inevitable. If they didn't, and she found out… He didn't fancy being turned into an animal, and who knew what she might do to Thalia. Probably the same.

"Nothing, huh?" Annabeth turned back towards him. "You know, I found someone else too. That's why I was here, to break things off with you first."

Percy's eyes widened. "Who's the lucky guy?" he inquired.

"Well, actually, she's a girl."

It took him a few seconds to process that. "Y-You're a lesbian?" he finally managed to ask.

"No, I was just kidding," she said, laughing, "His name is Michael. He's a teacher. I met him at the café near my apartment."

He sighed. He had just been messed with by Annabeth, of all people. "Ha-ha. A mortal?"

"Yes. Clear-sighted."

"Well, good luck I guess…" What was he supposed to say? He didn't think it would be appropriate for him to comment on his Ex's love life.

"Hmm. Same goes for you. You'll need it," she said, "Honestly Percy, I think you're the only guy with the guts to date a Hunter."

Guts huh? He'd have called it suicidal tendency, but whatever. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"It was."

"Well… Okay then. I'm glad we got this over with." He truly was. It would only have become worse if they hadn't talked things out.

"Hmm. Goodbye, and goodnight," she said.

"Night." He watched her leave, then pushed himself off the bed after she did. The pain was mostly gone. Thank the gods for nectar and ambrosia (At least, he supposed that was who he ought to thank). He groaned. It had been an eventful day. Well, so far— It was only half past twelve. In the morning.

He walked out of the infirmary, then the Big house. It was cold. He shivered. He started walking towards the Poseidon cabin. The stars were beautiful. The moon too, he supposed. His mind wandered as he walked, and he found himself wondering how he'd face the Moon Goddess. The fact that he'd cheated on Annabeth wouldn't help his case.

He shivered and crossed his arms across his chest. The night air was biting. He started walking faster. He made it to the Poseidon cabin, in a hurry to enter, when he found himself looking at the imposing marble cabin next door. Thalia was there. He didn't know what, but something compelled him to go there.

So he did, letting go of the door handle, and rushed over to the Zeus cabin, letting himself in.

The Moon was overhead.

==|=ぢそ===—

 **[AN]**

 **So, chapter 4 is here. You like? Not like? Think It sucks and I should kill myself? Tell me! Also, made myself some custom line-breaks.**

 **I didn't know if I wanted to write the breakup scene or skip it, since my romantic XP IRL=0. I gave it my best shot. Is it realistic?  
That flashback sequence... Well, I watch anime. A lot. So there. Hopefully it doesn't break your suspension of disbelief meters.  
Some foreshadowing towards the end, I'll finish this fic soon. Then I can start working on the next one. Unfortunately, I don't get much time to write, and am a slow writer on top of that.**

 **I have a rough outline for a (perlia) fic with the Norse pantheon. I think it'll be different.  
Basically, Annabeth fuses with (evil) Chaos, Percy joins Team Ragnarok, which is a Loki-Vanir coalition, becomes Njord's champion... Yeah. Tell me what you think.**

 **(I also dug out the first fanfic I ever wrote (not published), for HTTYD, and might start working on that)**

 **Finally, thank you to the to people who reviewed/favorited/followed, is great motivation. However, I'm happy if you simply bothered to read this, so thanks.**

 **[AN]**

==|=ぢそ===—


	5. Chapter 5

**[DISCLAIMER]**

 **Me own nothing.**

 **[DISCLAIMER]**

Percy entered the Zeus cabin, not knowing why he had done so. It had been on impulse, something he couldn't explain — He hoped Zeus hadn't noticed. He shut the heavy marble door behind him, which closed with a thud.

Percy had never actually been inside cabin one before. The first thing he noticed was how cold it was. The Zeus cabin felt like a cold, dead museum exhibit. He did not like museums — He'd had rather traumatic experiences in those. Like the time his math teacher had tried to kill him (And people said they weren't evil. Yeah, right). Percy had no idea how Thalia managed to sleep here. His own cabin was always at just the right temperature — Warm when it was cold, cool when it was hot — Must have had something to do with his dad being a sea god.

The second thing he noticed was the creepy looking statue at the end of the room. Of Zeus, of course. Percy didn't know if it was meant for the sky god to look like he wanted to murder someone, or that had simply the sculptor's interpretation. Then again, Zeus had always seemed like he'd wanted to murder someone — At least, when Percy was there. "Hmm…"

The third thing, was Thalia's sleeping figure in the corner of the cabin, something he only saw thanks to the glowing statue — It was dark. It seemed she had moved one of the braziers from beside the statue to make room for herself, not wanting to sleep under Zeus' gaze. Percy totally understood — He wouldn't have been able to sleep with his father staring at him like that, and his dad wasn't Zeus.

He took a few steps, inaudible on the cold marble floor, and paused. Now that he'd acted out his impulse, he had no idea what to do. He wasn't exactly tired, he'd been out cold for a good nine hours. He stood there for a minute or so, just staring at the floor in front of him.

The cabin was… empty. Thalia's corner aside, there was a small, uncomfortable-looking cot to Percy's left — Most likely Jason's, who had returned to Camp Jupiter. That was all. No furniture, nothing. Admittedly, Percy's own cabin wasn't the most well-furnished, but it had a homely feel to it.

He couldn't understand why Thalia would want to sleep in the barren, imposing cabin with only her father for company. He didn't think that the Hunters' cabin could be any worse — It was most likely better. The only negative he could think of was the large number of Hunters — fifty-seven at present — It had to be crowded. Perhaps that was why she preferred sleeping in cabin one.

He looked at Thalia's sleeping form. A thought of joining her flashed through his mind, which he quickly dismissed — He'd already conducted more electricity in the past twenty-four hours than he could handle. It'd be awful if he died at his age. He could already imagine the headline — 'SHOCKING NEWS: HERO OF OLYMPUS ELECTROCUTED AFTER ENTERING HUNTER'S BED'. He winced. Not how he wanted to go.

He looked towards the cot again. Making up his mind, he walked to it and sat down. The light frame sunk slightly under his weight. He took off the loafers that he'd found next to the bed in the infirmary. He'd assumed they were for him, since his boots had been taken — Something he appreciated. He'd have to thank whoever had done that. Although, knowing them, Connor and Travis had probably retrieved the boots for future use. Percy should have learned a long time ago not to accept 'gifts' from children of Hermes.

He sighed, crashing onto the cot, which caused a loud creak. He quickly turned to see if Thalia had noticed. Nothing. She was still sleeping soundly. Huh. He'd figured that she would be more alert, being a Hunter and all. "Oh well," he said, relaxing.

Percy adjusted his position, making himself comfortable. He lay on the cot and tried to sleep, to no avail. It was cold, and he wasn't even close to being tired. His thoughts started wandering.

He'd finally broken up with Annabeth, even though he wasn't the initiator. He'd have to tell Thalia when she woke. Although she'd never actually told him to break things off with his (Ex-) girlfriend, he knew she had been worried. Worried that she was just a way to deal with Annabeth's absence. He may not have been very good with girls, but he wasn't that dense.

Thalia's last romance hadn't worked out too well, when the boy she had liked — Luke — had turned out to be a traitor. It was one of the reasons she had joined the Hunters. However, it appeared that she had learned that one bad experience didn't mean that all men would try to stab you in the back — Something the rest of the Hunters seemed to have a hard time understanding.

The point was, Percy could understand why Thalia had trust issues. Yet, she had let him into her heart (Figuratively), and even tolerated him officially being with another woman. He doubted any other person would have— Could have done that. It couldn't have been easy for her to both let down her own personal barriers and go against the teachings of her mistress.

…

What of Artemis? They couldn't keep this up behind her back forever. Annabeth knew, and it was highly probable that Chiron did too. If any of the Hunters had come to check on Thalia and seen her beside him, they might have guessed that something was up. Even if they hadn't, they were sure to inform Artemis. And Artemis was a goddess with thousands of years of experience in the field of spotting illicit relationships. She would figure it out.

Then she would either kick Thalia out of the Hunt and turn him into an animal, or turn them both into the same, judging from her track record. Since Thalia was a daughter of Zeus, the former was more likely, but regardless, both options spelled a furry future for Percy. He wondered if Thalia would be okay with dating a jackalope… It would be best if he didn't have to find out.

What if… He was the one to tell Artemis, instead of waiting for her to find out? Would that help? Gods, it was so confusing. Well, he'd have to ask Thalia her opinion first. Why did the Fates hate them so much? Being born children of the Big Three, having prophecies dumped on their shoulders… Then falling in love, when each seemed unattainable to the other.

He sighed, looking at the starry ceiling of the Zeus cabin.

==|=ぢそ===—

Thalia woke at five in the morning, as she was conditioned to. The first thing she noticed was that she hadn't had any dreams. Which was strange. For a demigod, a night with no dreams was… Unnatural. Especially if they were stressed. And last she'd checked, she was stressed. Just the night before, she'd had a horrid dream involving Percy and she being caught by Artemis, and her… Boyfriend? Being turned into a jackalope as she watched helplessly.

Thalia shuddered. The trouble with demigod dreams was, they were prophetic in nature. Meaning, there was a chance that the events of her dream would come to pass. There was no doubt that Annabeth and Chiron knew. Hopefully they wouldn't tell, or, well, someone would be ringing her knell.

Annabeth would confront her, that much she knew. Thalia wondered what would happen. Would Annabeth break up with Percy? Or would she apologize for having been so distant and patch things up with him? That would be for the best, Thalia supposed, dismissing her own feelings. Annabeth and Percy would get married, have a family, and grow old together; while Thalia would watch from the sidelines, a forgotten fling, with Artemis none the wiser.

Her heart protested. She didn't want that. She wanted to be the one Percy was in love with, the one he ma— Woah there. Thalia stopped her train of thought, not liking where it was heading. She was not some lovesick teenager. She was Thalia Grace, daughter of the king of gods, and ardent follower of Arch Enemy. It would be best not to get ahead of herself.

She sat up on her bedroll, swiping her bangs away from her eyes. Her hair was growing long again. Well, nothing her dagger couldn't fix. It had been about a good half-decade since the last time she'd had a 'normal' haircut — Not that she minded, she liked the look. There wasn't exactly time to visit a salon when you hunt monsters for a living. Most of the others just let their hair grow out and chopped off the ends when it grew too long. It was more difficult for Thalia, since she liked keeping her hair short.

She put a hand into her pack and withdrew her toothbrush and paste. Partial-immortality did not cover oral hygiene. She slipped on her boots, and stood up, ready to get some fresh air — Which was more of a psychological need than a physical one: Her father was the god of the skies after all, it was expected that his cabin would have only fresh air running through it.

That was when she saw the figure — A man — lying on Jason's cot. Who wasn't Jason. The man's hand was hanging from the side of the poorly constructed sleeping assist (Thalia knew how uncomfortable the thing was, she'd tried it out once. Never again). His head was balanced on the edge. She couldn't see his face, it was turned away from her, but there were a few drops of some liquid on the floor under it. Drool?

Upon closer observation, she noticed that on the man's wrist, there was a watch just like the one she had given Percy.

…

What. Was. He. Doing… In her cabin? What if the Hunters had come to call her? What if her father noticed? Was the boy an idiot? Wait… He was. Thalia cursed.

She hurriedly moved to the cot, dropping her dental supplies on her makeshift bed. "Percy!" She had stepped in his drool. "Ugh! Disgusting!" she exclaimed, removing her foot from the spot. "Wake up!"

No response. He moved his head. It was now over the edge, almost touching the floor.

"Gods damn it! Perseus Jackson." She shook the sleeping man's arm, trying to elicit a response.

"…Mmm… No, Blackjack, that's not an apple…" Percy uttered, still asleep.

"What in Hades is he dreaming about?" Thalia wondered aloud.

"…T-Thalia… Blackjack ate Mars…" He kicked at the air, presumably stomping his foot in his dream. The force was enough to push him over the edge of the cot and he fell, landing face first in his own drool. "Ugh…" he groaned, pushing himself up.

Thalia blushed when she heard her name. Her name, not Annabeth's, regardless how strange the context.

Well, at least now he was awake. Thalia stepped back, waiting for him to regain his senses. He got onto his knees. "Uhh… What happened? Where am I?" he managed to say. He looked around, meeting Thalia's eyes. "Thalia? Th-This is your cabin. W-Why am I here?"

"Good morning Percy. I was hoping you'd be able to answer that. But first, I'd like you to get out, before anyone finds you here!" Of course, he didn't know why he was in her cabin. Why had she expected otherwise? Gods… She shook her head. Hopefully he'd explain later. For the time-being, he had to leave.

"Uh… Okay… I'll be leaving then," Percy said, standing up, as he wiped the drool from his face. He looked kind of cute.

"You'd better hurry. The Hunters might come any minute now. We have morning Archery practice."

He looked at his watch and groaned, giving her a 'seriously?' look. "It's five minutes past five. In the morning."

"That's nice to know. Means they'll be here in ten minutes. Get moving." Practice started at a quarter past five. Hopefully the Hunters wouldn't notice Percy moving out of the Zeus cabin.

"Okay, okay. I get it. I'm going." He brushed his hair to the side. Without warning, he stepped up to Thalia and hugged her, his warm arms wrapping around her body. "Can I kiss you?"

She hugged him back. "I haven't brushed."

"Well, neither have I," saying that, he placed his lips on hers. She reciprocated the gesture, kissing him back.

They stood like that for a good half minute, before parting. "Y-You should go," Thalia managed to say, a little out of breath. They broke the embrace, with her stepping back.

"Right. That was nice," he said, his breathing shallow. He turned and started walking up to the cabin door.

Thalia thought about what she had just done. She had nearly made out with a son of Poseidon, in front of her father's statue, as a Hunter. She was so done for. "Nice."

Percy gripped the handle, when he turned, it seemed he had something to say. "Forgot to tell you, I broke up with Annabeth last night" He paused, thinking. "Well, technically, this morning."

Then he turned and left, leaving Thalia with a bubbly feeling in her chest.

==|=ぢそ===—

 **[AN]  
**

 **Yay! Crossed 2k words. Hit a nice number: 2222. I could have hit 3k though. Probably.  
So, this was mostly filler, because, well, I wanted to. There hadn't been enough Perlia action in the past few chapters and since _I'm_ the author... I made it happen.**

 **I've noticed that people don't like reviewing. It makes me think it's neither good enough for people to do so, nor so bad that they're forced to. Kind of like what happened in school: They called the kids with _bad_ grades and told them to improve; called those with _good_ grades and told them to do even better. But me? Oh, you're average. *Sighs* I write to satisfy myself, so it's not an issue, but reviews are nice.  
But that's enough ranting**

 **To the guest who did review, thank you for expressing your opinion. However, I had meant for this to be a Perlia from the start, and I really wanted to clear out the conflicts to get to that point. (Still gotta work out the thing with Artemis, then something with Zeus. This is gonna be longer than I expected).**

 **I always took Thalia for more goth than punk, so Arch Enemy, not Green Day (No idea if people who identify as goth (Do they exist?) think it counts as goth. Sorry if I offend you).**

 **As always, thank you to everyone who reviewed/favorited/followed/bothered to read.**

 **What I'm listening to right now: _Shaping the Soul - Ithilien_.**

 **[AN]**

==|=ぢそ===—


	6. Chapter 6

**[DISCLAIMER]**

 **Percy Jackson belongs to Thalia.  
Wait, no, to Rick. Rick Riordan.**

 **[DISCLAIMER]**

It was lunch time. Percy glanced over to the Hunters' table. No sign of Thalia. Where was she? He hadn't seen her once since morning. Maybe he'd ask one of the Hunters. But with what reason? They wouldn't exactly be willing to tell him. No, that wouldn't work. They were already on the verge of being found out. Him asking her whereabouts would only raise suspicion.

He noticed Phoebe glaring at him. It wasn't the usual 'you're a boy' glare though, it was something else. Huh.

He took his plate over to the hearth, scraping a portion of his steak into the fire. "To Poseidon." Thinking for a second, he fed another helping to the flames and added, "To Artemis, please don't kill me. Or turn me into a jackalope."

He turned around, ready to return to his table, when he saw Phoebe standing in front of him. "Jackson. We need to talk. Come meet me at the Arena," she said, then moved past him to make her offerings, not giving him a chance to respond.

He was so dead. No sign of Thalia, and now her second wanted to meet him? Yup. He moved back to his empty table and sat down. He stared at his plate, no longer hungry. Go figure.

Five minutes and not much eating later, Percy saw Phoebe getting up from the Hunters' table. She looked at him, then headed off in the direction of the Arena.

"Guess I have no choice…" He sighed. It was only the second day of the Hunters' stay. He wasn't sure he'd live till the end of the week. He waited a minute, then stood up. Best not to keep an angry looking Hunter waiting. But then again, they always looked angry.

He felt his pocket for Riptide — Pointless really, since it always was. Hopefully he wouldn't need it, but you never know. Secure in the knowledge that he was armed, he started walking to his destination. He kept a moderate pace, not looking forward to his rendezvous, but not wanting to piss off the Hunter — At least, more than he had already.

Percy recalled Thalia telling him of his watch's combat ability. A gauntlet huh? It sounded cool, though he didn't know what he'd do with it on his left hand. He held his sword in his right after all.

He was yet to try out the feature, having been busy with homework in the morning. He couldn't go to school anymore, an eighteen-year-old child of the Big Three attracted a lot of attention. From monsters. Which was more trouble than it was worth, the reason Percy took online classes from Camp, as did quite a few others. The gods — Athena — had been nice enough to provide the necessary facilities.

"Well, no time like the present," he said as he stopped walking, holding out his arm. He turned the bottom-most knob on his watch. The watch melted into a black mercurial substance, cool to the touch, which spread over his fingers and a third of his forearm, forming a liquid glove. It then solidified into a plated gauntlet, black as night. "Holy crap!" he exclaimed. Then he thought about what his exclamation insinuated. ADHD was a serious pain sometimes.

He moved his fingers. It was slightly heavy, but surprisingly flexible — It felt like a glove. He could move his arm with relative ease. He also noticed that the fingertips were pointed, looking extremely sharp. So, it could be used as a weapon. Interesting. And badass.

One thing confused him. What was it made of? It was magical, that much was for sure, but it was black, and the only black enchanted metal he knew of was Stygian iron. That wasn't it though, not enough doom and gloom. Strange.

He was about to revert it to its original form — didn't want to appear hostile after all — when, "Shoot!"

He didn't know how to turn it back… Maybe if he willed it?

… No such luck. He snapped his fingers, clapped his hands together, fist bumped himself and did an Iron Fist impression. Nothing happened.

Great. Now he'd have to approach Phoebe looking like he wanted a fight. Just great. If the Fates were kind, Phoebe was looking for a fight — She had called him to the Arena — but he was Percy Jackson. He didn't know if the Fates had strung his thread on a lyre, but he felt like he had been played all his life.

There was no avoiding it. He resumed walking, his destination only a few hundred feet away. He'd have looked horribly out of place anywhere else; with his orange t-shirt, blue jeans, and black gauntlet, but this was Camp half-blood. No one payed him any mind.

Phoebe was waiting for him at the edge of the circular ring that was the Arena. That was it really, just a ring carved into the ground, with a weapons rack to the side and a couple benches. The Roman version was definitely better. But who was he to complain?

When she saw the piece of armor, she narrowed her eyes, and her expression hardened. As expected, she was reading the wrong signals. He raised his hands, as a gesture of surrender.

She misinterpreted it, it seemed, as he had an arrow pointing at his face. "Woah there! I come in peace!" he said, not wanting to get shot.

"Where did you get that, Jackson?" She sounded nervous. Weird. He was the one with an arrow aimed at him. "Did you steal it?"

"Steal? Steal what?" There really was only one thing she could be talking about, but he decided to play innocent.

"Don't act dumb Jackson. That thing on your arm. Answer me or else." She shifted her aim downwards, making it clear what 'or else' meant — It wasn't good. Why did all Hunters want to limit his reproductive capabilities? Maybe it was his natural charm. He wished he could trade it for… Something more normal. And less life threatening.

"Oh, that? Um… It was a… a gift!" It'd be best if she didn't ask who it was from.

However, the moment she heard him, Phoebe's demeanor changed. She lowered her bow, her face turning pale. "She couldn't have. Not for a boy… Oh Zeus…" she mumbled to herself.

"What's the matter? You look a bit out of it," Percy commented, lowering his hands. He guessed that Phoebe had figured out who the gift was from, though he couldn't tell what the big deal was.

"Do you… Know… what that thing on your arm is made of?" she asked him, her glare returning, but it had no fire behind it.

"Uh… No? Gotta be some kind of magic metal though." So, Phoebe knew what it was made of. Maybe she knew how to turn it back into a watch?

"It's magical all right… Do you know what we Hunters use for our weaponry?" she asked, not expecting him to answer.

"Silver?" No duh. It would be hard to miss if you had one good eye. He didn't know how they managed to hunt wearing those flashy outfits. Or was that the point? Monsters were always looking for food, and if it was shiny, free dinner! Though one would expect them to learn after being killed, say, a hundred times or so.

"That was a rhetorical question. Although I suppose it'd cost you too many brain cells to find out what that means, boy."

Percy felt insulted. Well, he had been insulted. He retorted, "I know what rheto—"

"Shut up." Not letting Percy speak, Phoebe continued, "Lunar silver. Like celestial bronze or imperial gold, but, well, silver." How creative. Lunar silver? That was the best the goddess could come up with? Then again, none of the enchanted metals he knew sounded all that creative. "That's the normal version. However, your glove—"

He cut her off, "It's a gauntlet."

She gave him a murderous look. Percy noted that her bow was still in her hand, and decided to keep shut. "Your glove, is made from black lunar silver. Mined from the dark side of the moon." Her words were laced with venom. She didn't seem very happy about being interrupted, though she hadn't had any issues with interrupting him.

"Hypocrite," he muttered to himself. She didn't hear him, thankfully.

"Which means," Phoebe continued, "That you, boy, are in possession of a substance that is only available to Lady Artemis' top Hunters, and herself. It is a metal far beyond the ones we use, bound to the moon itself. Even I only have one piece of equipment made of that."

Oh Poseidon. Thalia's gift just seemed to get better. But then, things were only getting worse. He was in trouble. And if he was in trouble, then it was highly likely that Thalia was too. Phoebe was yet to reveal her intentions in calling him, since they had been side-tracked. He asked one last question, "Bound to the moon?"

"That was not for you to know. Ignore it. You should return that as soon as possible, for your sake. And hers." Return it? To whom? Artemis? He was sure that would go well.

Besides, he'd have to take it off first. "I don't know how to take it off," he confessed. Hopefully, Phoebe would.

"…" She stared at him, as if she was wondering if hunting him was worth the trouble. "Try sliding your hand over it…" The malice in her tone had disappeared, replaced by disbelief, as she put her arrow back in her quiver.

He did as she had said, and voila! The gauntlet melted back into a watch. "Um… Thanks." He decided to get things back on track. "So, why did you call me here?"

"You did something incredibly stupid, Jackson. You got involved with one of us. In doing so, you not only risked your own life, but Thalia's as well." Phoebe knew. That meant, so did Artemis. Thalia had been missing for the whole day… "Lady Artemis was about to turn her into an animal, when Zeus intercepted. This happened an hour ago." He watched her, waiting for her to continue. "They're arguing on a verdict. At Olympus."

"Why are you telling me all this?" Percy inquired. The Hunter had no reason to inform him, she probably hated him. But thanks to her, he knew where he was headed next.

"I know… Thalia wasn't the best suited for the Hunt," Phoebe admitted, her initial hostility now gone. "She had never truly given up on men. She didn't believe in most of the things we did, and therefore never really got too close to any of us. She was a good leader, but didn't have many friends." She stopped, thinking. "I may have been the one closest to her in the Hunt, but even we were distant. Most of the Hunters think of each other as sisters. Thalia… Never became part of the family. Sure, she ate like us and fought like us and even acted as we did, but she didn't think like us."

Percy was amazed. The same Hunter that had been willing to castrate him earlier was now almost opening up to him. A male. "So… That still doesn't explain why you're telling me this…"

"Thalia may not have had many friends, but I consider myself one of them. She wasn't happy in the Hunt, and when she finds something that makes her happy — You do, boy, as much as I hate to admit it — she suffers for it. She deserves better." Phoebe started glaring at him again. "I've heard your fatal flaw is loyalty. Will you just sit here and let her suffer, like any other male, or will you go help her?" It wasn't a question — Not that he needed to be asked. He had no idea how he could help, but if he could give his life to save Thalia's, he would gladly do so. He was selfish that way.

Time was short. An hour, she'd said. "Thank you," he said, before turning in the direction of the Pegasus stables, running as fast as his legs could carry him. It took him a minute. "Blackjack!" he called out.

He rushed his steed out of the stables. The horse seemed to have sensed the urgency in Percy's voice, as he made no complaint — Usually, the Blackjack express cost a minimum of two apples. "Where we headed boss?" the Pegasus whinnied, as Percy mounted him.

"Olympus."

"Oh. Okay. Thought you needed to get to a bathroom real quick, but that works too."

==|=ぢそ===—

 **[AN]**

 **So, another chapter. Weekends are good. Sorry about demanding reviews last chapter, was in a bad mood, and it reflected. Review if you want to.  
I've come to the conclusion that I can now bump up my words/chapter to 4k, at the cost of update speed (Not much, a couple days at most). Ought I?  
This was entirely in Percy's POV, something of a milestone.**

 **An unlikely ally appears in Phoebe, and the plot is progressing, albeit at a snail's pace. Also, made up a new metal. This was supposed to be a cute slice-of-life…  
Next chap will be in Thalia's POV, narrating her side of the events of the day. What did you think of Phoebe's character?**

 **About Annabeth finding someone else, something I failed to— didn't make clear, was that Percy reminded her too much of their trauma in Tartarus/The war. That and their growing apart were the primary factors leading to the break up.**

 **Thank you to reviewers, I'll try not to be a douche again; and thank you to those who followed, favorited, or read this.**

 **Finally, since the story's hit 10k words (an achievement, the most I'd written before was a 1k word short, and in school we have 500-word essays), you're welcome to think of a name for the gauntlet.**

 **What I'm listening to: _Whispered - Blade in the Snow_**

 **[AN]**

==|=ぢそ===—


	7. Chapter 7

**[DISCLAIMER]**

 **Do I have to do this** **every** **chapter? I'll run out of witty? lines.  
*Sighs*  
I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.**

 **[DISCLAIMER]**

==|=ぢそ===—

Olympus. Throne room, war council, court, meeting place, hangout, and party spot of the gods. All in one gigantic marble palace. Honestly, for gods, they didn't have much of a sense of variety. Currently, there were only two gods and one demigod present. Thalia felt awkward standing in the center of the huge room, its enormity enhanced by its emptiness. She returned her focus to the argument taking place in front of her.

"Father, I cannot accept this. Hero of Olympus or no, the boy has tainted one of my Hunters — My lieutenant, at that. He must be punished." Artemis was saying, her tone stern, with an angry expression marring her face. Thalia was offended. Tainted? Honestly, they hadn't even done anything. Much…

She recalled the incident earlier that morning, a light blush dotting her cheeks. At least her day had started well. That was about it though. After Percy had left, Thalia — Although she'd never admit it — had spent the next five minutes recovering from the bubbly feeling that he had inflicted. That was when the Hunters broke down her door (Well, they didn't knock, and that was the same thing, in her opinion) and found her in her disheveled state.

She'd been so caught up thinking about the words he'd said before leaving, that she had forgotten entirely about archery practice. Or, for that matter, fixing her clothes. It wouldn't even have mattered if the Hunters who had come to get her hadn't been who they had — Phoebe and Atlanta. Two of her closest (Only) friends in the Hunt. Why? Because anyone else would have knocked.

It must have been an awkward sight for the two: To see their close friend and leader, hugging a pillow while rolling around on her bed, with a huge grin planted on her face. The worst part? Thalia hadn't even noticed them until Phoebe cleared her throat. Twice.

Thalia had quickly returned to her senses, but the damage had been done. No words had been exchanged between the two parties, with Phoebe uttering a soft 'We'll wait outside', before the pair excused themselves. Thalia had wanted to die, her face burning red with shame.

What a mess that had been… And then that had led to the mess she was in currently.

Her father was speaking. Coming back to the present, Thalia listened to what he had to say.

"I understand your feelings, daughter, but you must understand — I cannot simply let you turn him of all people into a… What was it again?" She wondered why her father was defending Percy. The sky god had never been too fond of his nephew.

"So, you would side with the man who violated your daughter over your daughter herself? You disgust me, father." So now she was playing the family card. There wasn't much Thalia could do — It was unhealthy to interrupt gods, and she wasn't Percy — but she'd have liked to voice her opinion. She was still ticked off about how her mistress had just assumed that she had been 'violated'.

Although, that might have been Atlanta's fault.

Archery practice had gone by, followed by breakfast, with no questions asked. After that, however, Thalia had been 'escorted' to her cabin, by the same two Hunters that had fetched her. She hadn't bothered trying to hide anything, telling them whatever they'd wanted to hear. It had felt good, like a huge weight had been taken off her chest.

It turned out that what Thalia had said was what Atlanta hadn't wanted to hear, since she'd fainted.

Artemis had returned from Olympus fifteen minutes later, and had been informed about the unconscious Hunter. Concerned, she had rushed to the infirmary, just as Atlanta came to. It had been so conveniently timed, Thalia had felt like the Fates had been messing with her. Come to think of it, they probably had, since Atlanta had convinced herself that Percy had assaulted Thalia — She shouldn't have told them how things had begun — and had proceeded to convince the moon goddess.

Who hadn't taken it too well. Who'd have guessed? She had been about to 'turn that filthy monster into a jackalope' as she'd put it, when a flash of lightning had enveloped the goddess and her lieutenant, bringing them to the hall of the gods.

Where her father and step-sister had been arguing for the past half hour. Or had it been an hour? Thalia didn't know.

"—seidon will do!" Thalia had zoned out again...

She'd missed what her father had just said. Something about Poseidon?

"Justice is on my side!" Her step-sister was now shouting. "The boy will repent, and his father can do nothing abou—" A loud creak was heard. Thalia turned towards the sound.

…

Percy Jackson was standing at the door, panting.

Silence. Thalia stared at him in disbelief.

"Hey… Thals…"  
Those were his last words.

Two seconds later, a streak of silver struck the boy, and where he had been standing, there was a ball of fur with antlers protruding out of its head. An animal Thalia was very familiar with. A jackalope.

"Oops. My finger slipped," she heard a voice behind her say. The owner of said voice sounded extremely satisfied. The same could not be said of a certain daughter of Zeus, who was still recovering from the recent series of events.

"Artemis… Can you turn him back?" Another voice, male, inquired.

"It is unfortunate, but no," the first voice answered. The now-jackalope was hissing.

Thalia finally realized what had just occurred in front of her. And she was angry. Angry at the idiot — Who she loved — who had rushed to his own undoing, and angry at her patron goddess for not even asking her feelings, before jumping to conclusions.

"Wh-Why?" Her voice was shaky. She felt like she could break down at any moment.

The jackalope hissed.

"Thalia?" her father asked, sounding concerned.

She cursed. "Why is the world so unfair!?" She stared at the jackalope that was learning how to hop. "My father was never around, my mother went insane, my brother got taken away, my uncle wanted to kill me for being my father's daughter, and then I got turned into a bloody tree by the father I'd never known!"

She paused, turning around to look at her father, who was wearing a guilty expression. "I come back to life, only to have a prophecy thrown on my shoulders that tells me I will die saving or destroying the world!" She took a breath, continuing, "I find out that the boy I had a crush on has turned to the dark side, and he wants to kill me! Do you know what that feels like!?" Thalia was panting, with her father looking like he had been stabbed.

Artemis looked confused. "But then you understood, yes? That you were better off without men? That is why you joined the Hunt, is it not?" she inquired.

Thalia glared at her, not caring that Artemis was a goddess. "What choice did I have?" she shouted, "'A single choice shall end his days'? I was scared! I didn't want to be the hero, I wanted to live! My birthday was one day away!"

Now the goddess looked surprised. "But surely yo—"

"And then, in the Hunt, I'd thought I'd found my place, but no: I was always different! I didn't think that all men were rapists, that the campers were inferior to us!" Her father's eyes were elsewhere, filled with guilt.

Artemis interrupted, "But why do you speak of this now? Did the so called 'hero' not assault you?"

A chuckle escaped from the Hunter's mouth, humorless and dry. "Assault me?!" She laughed. "He didn't 'assault' me! I wasn't 'violated'! We didn't even do anything!" She paused for breath. "I loved— love him!" The moon goddess looked dumbfounded.  
"Did you even ask me how I felt? Any of you! Father, you, the Campers or the Hunters!?" Zeus winced, while Artemis seemed like she was still coming to terms with her lieutenant's words. "I always had to be strong! Because I was a daughter of Zeus, I had to be better than everyone else'! Gods, I…" She cursed. "Then Percy was there, and he knew what it felt like. To always have to be the hero."  
Thalia couldn't shout anymore. "I fell for him. Laughable, isn't it? Everyone looked up to us. In the end, we could only fall back on each other…" she trailed off.

Silence enveloped the empty hall. Zeus opened his mouth, but seemed to have nothing to say. Artemis looked like she didn't know what to think.

Finally, the goddess spoke, "That means… You would give up the Hunt — Immortality — for a man?" There was no anger in her tone, only resignation.

Thalia said nothing.

"Was the boy not enamored with the daughter of Athena? What of that?" Artemis inquired.

"They broke up."

"He had claimed to love her, had he not? And, yet, he left her. What would have stopped him from doing the same again?" The jackalope — Percy — hissed. He had managed to make his way over to the daughter of Zeus, and now hopped in front of her, challenging the moon goddess. What an idiot. Even now, he played the hero. Artemis raised an eyebrow. "I speak the truth, boy. I may have been too hasty in passing judgement, but I do not regret it. Besides, it is irreversible."

Zeus broke his silence, "Surely, you do not mean that? Perseus did not assault Thalia, as you now know. My brother will not be happy, and I do not wish to make an enemy of him." So that was why the sky god had been defending Percy. It made a little more sense now.

…Wait. 'As you now know'?

"Father… Were you… Aware?" Artemis did not sound happy.

"Hard to miss when they're in front of your eyes…" Zeus muttered. The statue. Thalia was so glad she didn't sleep in front of that thing. "I did not tell you, because it was not for me to tell. That was to be my daughter's own decision."

Thalia was surprised. Her father had known, yet he hadn't said anything. Did that mean he approved — or at the least, wasn't against it —? Her sister, however, didn't seem to like this. "Very well then! She has decided!" She glared at Thalia. "Thalia Grace: You are no longer a Huntress! I release you from your oath to me, and you are stripped of my blessing!"  
Percy gnashed his teeth angrily at the goddess. "You are free to pursue your romance; however, I cannot return him to his original state." She sneered. "Perhaps you will learn your lesson this time. Farewell!"  
With that, the goddess vanished in a flash of silver, letting silence settle on the hall again. Except the chittering coming from Percy.

So, she would have to live with a jackalope for a boyfriend… Thalia cursed the Fates, before crumpling to the cold marble floor on her knees.

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 **[AN]**

 **Ya know, I took cooking class once. I believe it was called… Butchering (characters) 101. Helps a lot.  
So, took me a while to write this. Mostly because I couldn't get the chapter flowing, writing in short spurts as opposed to one concentrated burst. The inconsistency throughout this entire fanfic bugs me to no end.**

 **So, turns out Phoebe didn't actually know what happened to Thalia, and Percy was misinformed. Ta-da! Plot twist.  
I considered multiple scenarios after Percy's transformation, but this is (unfortunately) not the kind of fanfic where a demigod can go full rage mode and take down a god.  
So I ended up settling for an emotional breakdown. Also, Artemis is the villain (of sorts). Tell me what you think.**

 **Thank you for reviewing, hope you liked this chapter. I don't know if I'll be making this lengthy, but I'm glad you think it(the story)'s good. If you followed or favorited, or if you're reading this, thanks.**

 **Will Percy become human again? Who knows…? (I do)**

 **What I'm listening to:** _ **Ice Nine Kills - The Nature of the Beast.**_

 **[AN]**

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